A boy, disturbed by a sheik’s daily prayers, killed him and buried the body with his mother’s help. To conceal the crime, the mother replaced the sheik’s head with a sheep’s. When the boy confessed to villagers, they investigated. The mother convinced them her son was mad, showing them the buried sheep’s head, which they accepted as proof, preserving their secret.
Source
Moorish Literature
romantic ballads, tales of the Berbers,
stories of the Kabyles, folk-lore,
and national traditions
The Colonial Press,
London, New York, 1901
► Themes of the story
Cunning and Deception: The mother deceives the villagers by substituting a sheep’s head for the sheik’s, convincing them of her son’s innocence.
Conflict with Authority: The boy’s act of killing the sheik represents a direct challenge to religious and communal authority.
Family Dynamics: The story highlights the relationship between the mother and son, showcasing their collaboration in concealing the crime.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about the Berber peoples
Translated by J. Rivière
and Chauncey C. Starkweather
A man died, leaving a son. The child spent day and night with his mother. The sheik chanted a prayer every morning and waked him up. The child went to find the sheik, and said:
“Ali Sheik, do not sing so loudly, you wake us up every morning–my mother and me.”
But the sheik kept on singing. The child went to the mosque armed with a club. At the moment when the sheik bowed to pray he struck him a blow and killed him. He ran to his mother, and said to her: “I have killed that sheik; come, let us bury him.”
They cut off his head and buried his body. The child went to the Thadjeinath, where the men of the village were assembled.
► Continue reading…
In his absence his mother killed a sheep. She took the head and buried it in place of the sheik’s head. The child arrived at the Thadjeinath and said to those present:
“I have killed the sheik who waked us up every morning.”
“It is a lie,” said they.
“Come to my mother’s house and we will show you where we buried his head.” They went to the house, and the mother said to them:
“Ali Sidi, this child is mad. It is a sheep that we have killed. Come and see where we buried its head.” They went to the spot, dug, and found a sheep’s head.
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